"Wikipedia ranks as one of the most popular and well-known Web sites ever. Everyone from kids looking to get a leg up on homework to Web developers tapping the power of user-generated content makes Wikipedia the first stop. But in terms of useful information, Wikipedia is merely the centerpiece of a much larger setting. The Wikimedia Foundation is the organization that runs Wikipedia, and much more. Its home page says: "Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment." That's a big claim, and it takes more than one even gigantic encyclopedia to fulfill it. You're probably aware that there are numerous language versions of Wikipedia. (I was surprised and gratified to find the respectable number of Wikipedia articles in Igbo, my father tongue.) But do you know how often useful information is present in other languages that has not been translated to English? Have you heard of Wiktionary, Wikinews, Wikibooks, Wikisource, Wikiversity, and the like? Have you considered some of the benefits you could gain for your Web project by tapping into this vast pool of information? In this article I'll show you around the greater Wikimedia and present code that helps your own site's users "freely share in the sum of all knowledge"."
